Is an operation in Punjab a good idea?

The Punjab government and its patrons in the deep state will not allow a military operation in south Punjab. But then such an action is not needed. All that is required is a decision by all stakeholders in power that militancy will not be tolerated. Then integrated intelligence and a police operation can do the job.

Begum Abida Hussain’s suggestion that a military operation in south Punjab is doable indicates some higher politics – like giving the PML-N or her immediate opponents a bad nose – or she might have lost touch with reality.

This is not to suggest that jihadism is not an issue in Punjab. There are three main jihadi bases in the province. Although Chakwal and Gujranwala- Faisalabad are vital hubs of militancy, south Punjab attracts greater attention because it involves almost the entire region and is a territory from where the jihadi leadership seeks its sacrificial lamb — children of the poor.

Begum Hussain’s anger is understandable since her area, Jhang, is a major jihadi area and birthplace of the Sipahi- Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) which later developed its military wing Lashkare- Jhangvi, with further branches such as and Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM). The SSP, which is the mother of all militant outfits barring the LeT, sent its warriors to Afghanistan during the early 1980s.

A military operation will unleash a Pandora’s Box which may even devour Mrs Hussain and her clan. The government needs a holistic strategy. In the short-term, the answer is to launch an integrated police and intelligence operation. The police have sufficient intelligence to act against the culprits. All it will take is for the Punjab law minister not to protect militants, train police, and non-interference from the army and its agencies. In the past, police were intercepted by military agencies whenever they caught a militant. The police even had the capacity to move in Swat had powerful quarters not interfered. The state must move in as quickly as possible since the police, lower judiciary and other segments of the state are being penetrated by radicals and militants.

A long-term strategy means revamping the socio-political system in a manner that the great Begum and her ilk don’t attract people to violence. She represents feudalism which is not a dominant mode of production in Punjab but the name of a peculiar culture. Since a lot of big landowners in south Punjab are Shia, Deobandi outfits like SSP managed to muster support. The SSP and its sister organisations are anti-imperialist and anti-feudal. But let’s be careful. They are not antiimperialism or anti-feudalism. There is a lot of difference between the two. Sadly, the current power elite, the ethnic nationalists and the jihadis all represent new trends in feudalism.

Some may ask why spare Punjab when no one sympathised with the Pakhtun but two wrongs don’t make a right. Military operations in the tribal areas were a bad idea. In its arrogance and myopic thinking the army destroyed the traditional power structure and law enforcement mechanism and devastated local intelligence and police.

The military must only operate in the background to assist the police. This is necessary for effective action and to avoid bloodshed. The post-Blue Star police operation in east Punjab is a case in point. The military’s operation has increased financial and opportunity costs for the state. Today, people in Swat and the tribal areas distrust the military which has abused human rights in the name of protecting itself. This happens when an army is not properly trained for counter-insurgency. It kills more, out of fear for its life. This is true for both Pakistan and the US. The wound it leaves on people’s hearts is unimaginable.

The government urgently requires a conflict resolution strategy. This means restructuring the political system not war.